Quasi (#1): A Quasi Good Time.

Masterful, Beatlesque pop filtered through a punk rock perspective. I'm not quite sure what orifice most critics have their heads (ears included) lodged within, but Quasi's 2013 release Mole City made my personal “Best Of” list last year, at least. Former married couple, occasional collaborators, Sam Coomes (Heatmiser, Deep Fried Boogie Band) and Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney) enlivened the Hi-Dive in Denver on 11/5/13. They turned me on—to paraphrase a song of theirs.

At the show that same night, I met Voodoo Doughnut co-founder Tres Shannon, who I subsequently interviewed for Denver city magazine 5280 (his Portland-based business opened a store in Denver, the city where he spent time growing up—providing a dual, local angle). From the stage, Weiss gave props to Shannon—who once ran a Portland all-ages club, the X-Ray Cafe—for providing Quasi a place to play when no other venue would. Shannon, no stranger to sugary confections, clearly felt touched by the sweet sentiment. Voodoo Doughnut has subsequently started a record label, releasing a revved-up single by Coome's Deep Fried Boogie Band. Below, Shannon attends a May 2014 record-release party in Denver (at a Buffalo Exchange) for the Voodoo Doughnut 45 by Poison Idea.